Drastic times call for drastic measures! The Pens power play is mired in drastic times. Coach Dan needs to take drastic measures to make the power play even remotely effective. I am not sure what the answer is, but I would start with taking Kris Letang off of the number one unit. He is trying too hard, gripping the stick too hard or whatever. What he is right now, is ineffective. He struggles to hit the net with his shots (that is on the rare instances when he decides to shoot), his passes are off the mark, he is making bad decisions and losing pucks. He is not playing poorly in all aspects of the game, but the power play is horrible and he is the anchor on said power play.
Maybe they should let Talbot, Adams, Asham and Rupp run the power play. These guys have been their best players. Bring back Englland. He is not exactly crafty with the puck, but when he shoots, it goes on net. As Krundle said in his pre-game “Keep shooting, it really is the most effective way to score goals”. Maybe they should just shoot every time they have the puck. It can’t be worse than the existing PP.
I wrote this piece just after the Matt Cooke suspension was assessed. Unfortunately, my day jobs sometimes get in the way, I didn’t finish in a pertinent time frame. Well, Todd Bertuzzi has opened the door for me to submit my thoughts again.
The punishment that Matt Cooke got for his flagrant violation is appropriate. What Matt Cooke did was completely unacceptable. You can try and justify it anyway you want. You can say he tried to pull up at the last second,
but you’re wrong. This action is a complete lack of respect for other players, the NHL and the Penguins. I like Matt Cooke as a player when he plays his game within the confines of acceptable play. Certainly, he plays right on the edge of that fine line on a daily basis. That is what he needs to do to be successful. Blatantly elbowing a helpless player to the head is way over that fine line. Add to it, that this is something that Cooke has done repeatedly and this becomes flat out disrespect.
In his actions, he disregarded the leagues attempts to eliminate hits to the head and he showed a lack of regard for his own team. By his actions, he opened the door for the Rangers to come back and win the game. Cooke is a valuable player. When he does these things, he takes himself out of the line-up which lessens the teams overall effectiveness. His actions do, also, make Lemeiux and his stance on cleaning up the league look hypocritical. If Lemieux is serious about changing things in the NHL, he needs to start with his own team. ...
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*Feb 24th, 2011: The Penguins have just picked up Alexei Kovalev for a 7th round draft pick. The big question now is whether Craig Adams will give up his number so we can bring back the AK27.
There is a lot of talk right now about the Pens having interest in obtaining the services of Alexei Kovalev. Many sources report this as a possibility. Most people, who comment on the possibility, seem to think that it would not necessarily be a good thing. They say he is past his prime and his numbers are not good. This is true. I would like to take the other side of the argument and propose it would be a good thing to do.
I must admit right of the bat that I am a huge fan off Alexei Kovalev. I was very excited when the Pens acquired his services during the 98-99 season. In my opinion, he was one of most exciting guys to watch play. He has a remarkable ability to stickhandle and an equally impressive shot. During his time in Pittsburgh, he put up some very good numbers. He had 149 goals and 347 points in 345 games during his time in Pittsburgh. ...
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Wow, I haven’t witnessed this kind of thing since the North Stars skated Basil McRae and Shane Churla together. Obviously, the Islanders had vengeance on their minds. Unfortunately, the Pens gave them ample opportunity to extract revenge as they spotted the Isles a 6 goal advantage. Having a huge lead affords a team the opportunity to take some liberties.
The referees were damn near useless for this entire exchange. They never took control of the game. It seemed to really go down hill when Matt Martin sucker punched Max Talbot in the second period. Yeah, I get it, he didn’t connect cleanly, but the intent was there on the level of what Todd Berutuzzi did to Steve Moore. The referees could have set the tone at that point, but not so much. The snowball starting going down hill. After Gilles landed a flying elbow on Eric Tangradi and proceeded punching the now prone Tangradi, Michael Haley took the opportunity to engage Talbot. After that scrum was broken up, the Refs apparently felt that Haley could conduct himself appropriately. Why wouldn’t they think that as it was only his second fight of the game. The officials let him go to the penalty box on his own recognisance. Instead of peaceably going to the box, he decided to take a slight detour and skate to the other end of the ice and engage Brent Johnson in a fight. This prompted Eric Godard to defend his goaltender and leave the bench to fight with Haley.
The game went to hell from there. 322 penalty minutes. The officials let it go there. As bad as the officiating was during the game, I am quite interested in how the league handles some of the violations in terms of suspensions. We know that Godard will be suspended for leaving the bench, but there had better be more suspensions. Matt Martin’s attempted sucker punch should draw a good long suspension. If Matt Cooke gets a 4 game suspension for his hit, the hit Trevor Gilles put on Tangradi should get a stiff penalty. Hopefully, the league realizes how embarrassing this is for everyone, takes a stand and does something to prevent future such debacles.
Let’s not forget, the Pens and Isles face off one more time on April 8.
Or maybe, better yet, what does Malkin need to do, to get back to the form we expect from him? I have to be honest, I don’t know the answer to this problem. I have a couple of theories that could contribute to his lackluster production, but no concrete resolutions for sure. In fact, I hope that the other contributors and all of our faithful readers will also chime in with thoughts on this. Maybe we can sift through all of the results and come up with something that makes sense.
The frustrated Malkin
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It was nice to see Billy Guerin retire as a Pittsburgh Penguin. He was only here a short time, but there was a special bond between Billy and the fans. It is not often that a player can leave such an impression on city in such a short time. Billy is one of those special players that can and did.
I was fortunate enough to meet Billy. My company did some work in the home he and his family stayed in during his time with the Pens. I was actually working at his house the day he and the other players were given their Stanley Cup rings. When he came home, I didn’t waste much time asking him to see the ring. He was kind enough to oblige me. So, literally, moments after receiving that beautiful piece of jewelry, I got a first hand look at that baby. It was quite a thrill.
In my dealings with Billy, he was a super good guy. I am glad to have had the chance to meet him and I know this city feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to have him as a member of the home team.
Thanks Billy!
Last night the Pens pounded the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-2. Pittsburgh now has points in the last 12 games. Crosby extended his scoring streak to 15 games with two goals. Letang had two more assists. He is now two points behind Dustin Byfuglien for the scoring lead among defensemen. In addition, some of the “role” players also chipped in with goals. Rupp, Engelland, Kennedy & Martin (2) all chipped in with goals. A 7 goal outburst is what can happen when we have other players complimenting Crosby’s goal scoring. All of this occurred with Malkin sitting out with a slight knee injury, and with Staal still not available.
The team is really coming together right now. It is very entertaining to watch. A perfect example is their penalty killing. They work the kill with a level of teamwork I have not previously witnessed. They make smart little passes to each other to open up lanes for clearing passes, their coverage of rebounds is remarkable and they are boxing the other team out very effectively. Everything is coming together. ...
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